ROOM for one more? Six thousand people somehow crammed into this indoor pool in Suining, south-west China, last week, seeking refuge from temperatures in excess of 40 °C. The chaotic, gaudy scene unfolded at a resort called the Dead Sea. Here the water’s natural concentration of salts – at around 22 per cent – gives swimmers a buoyancy similar to what people experience at the real Dead Sea in the Middle East. The resort also has a 10,000-square-metre artificial surfing pool.
The searing conditions were the result of high-pressure systems trapping hot air over the country. Last week, China issued an orange alert, its second-highest temperature warning, for central and southern areas.
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It isn’t just China that is sweltering. Last month, Earth’s average surface temperature was at its highest since records began.
This article appeared in print under the headline “An inflatable rainbow”
